1. Mian Ali Haider L.L.B., L.L.M. (Cum Laude) U.K.
Freedom of Expression
“If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.”
Noam Chomsky
“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.”
Voltaire
“Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.”
Catherine of Siena
Mian Ali Haider L.L.B., L.L.M. (Cum Laude) U.K.

2. INTRODUCTION
Freedom of speech and expression has a long history that predates modern international human rights instruments.
It is thought that ancient Athens’ democratic ideology of free speech may have emerged in the late 6th or early 5th century BC. 
The values of the Roman Republic included freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

3. The right to freedom of expression is crucial in a democracy – information and ideas
Which help to inform political debate and are essential to public accountability and transparency in government.
It must be remembered that the whole concept of human rights and of any right set out in declarations, conventions, treaties, constitutions and laws is a essentially a distillation of centuries of philosophical discussion and debate.
Human rights are not a concept given to mankind from some external source. There is reasoning behind them and they remain open to discussion and reinterpretation

4. Development Dialogue Democracy
Freedom of
Expression
Democracy

5. FeX contributes to Freedom of Expression DEVELOPMENT
Unhindered access to information and knowledge is fundamental to all aspects of life:
Economic development,
Social participation and building democratic societies
Allows individuals and communities to speak out, express their aspirations and concerns and participate in the decisions that are crucial to development.
FeX contributes to
DEVELOPMENT

6. FeX contributes to Freedom of Expression DEMOCRACY
Free and independent media:
Facilitates good governance by fostering good relations between informed, critical, & participatory citizens & responsive elected officials.
Strengthens civil society, harnesses political transparency & accountability
FeX contributes to
DEMOCRACY

7. FeX contributes to Freedom of Expression DIALOGUE
Media has a great potential to foster mutual understanding, peace and reconciliation, particularly in open conflict and post-conflict countries; pluralistic media can reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of people
FeX contributes to
DIALOGUE

8. Whether there are limits to freedom of expression?
Is there anything that cannot be said, or circumstances under which things cannot be said?
Following from this there is a cluster of other questions.
If freedom of expression does have limits, just how can these limits be defined?
Is the giving of offence one of the possible limits to freedom of expression?
How can we identify the boundaries of what might legitimately be considered offensive?
Is there any kind of right to take offence?

9. LAW ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18,19, 29, 30
First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, 1791
European Convention on Human Rights, Article 10
The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, Article 19, 19-A, 20
Multiple Legislations in case of United Kingdom.

10. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. (18)
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. (19)

11. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.
It is first of all a right to freedom of opinion: an essentially Private Right.
Only after that is it a right to freedom of expression: a more Public Right
UNDHR protects the right to religious faith (actually before it protects freedom of expression)
Two important things about Articles:
That this is first of all a right of freedom of thought and conscience that includes religion.
It thus protects the views of those who have no religion and who may feel an antipathy to religion.
Secondly, in protecting a right to change religion or belief it implicitly protects the Right To Persuade others to change and confirms that by protecting public manifestations of religion or belief, including teaching.
The UNDHR thus recognises that it is not merely a Right To Have Beliefs, but to Change Beliefs and also to seek to persuade others to Change Their Beliefs.

12. That said, it is necessary to ask what freedom of expression actually means?
Looking at previous slides of freedom of expression that might help inevitably leads towards the First Amendment to the American Constitution.
The eighteenth century was the period in which modern thinking on human rights was worked out, and the First Amendment is a classic eighteenth century statement of the freedom of expression.

13. First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, 1791
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
This rejects an official establishment of any one religion, whilst protecting the practice of all religions.
It also protects peaceable assembly and the petitioning of government.
These are important statements, but it is the protection of freedom of speech and the freedom of the press .

14. the freedom of personal expression, The freedom of public expression.
Although they might be considered as a single right, they are actually two related rights:
the freedom of personal expression,
The freedom of public expression.
(The two aspects of expression have different levels of effect and tend to be justified in rather different ways)
The individual right of expression as a minor and innocuous right, but at the same time claims for its power are also common.
(Example)
That two such different views can be held is not surprising if we distinguish between a personal statement made impromptu in the presence of only a few (basic freedom of speech), with a carefully calculated statement put out before a substantial audience or using the media (freedom of the press). The power of the word to bring about, or contribute to, change is presumably indisputable. It is this power that leads to calls for freedom of expression to be used responsibly.

15. When those who already exercise power also use the word as one of their instruments, the argument for responsibility is persuasive.
Immanuel Kant, for example, argued that:
The freedom of expression might need to be controlled and restricted when it came to its use by those in authority.
The danger of the call for ‘responsible’ use of freedom of expression when applied to the ordinary citizen is that it can amount to a pressure for self-censorship.
In systems of government where authority actually requires ‘responsible’ use, this is essentially a basis for a system of formal censorship.
For this reason the fear that there will be calls for responsible use of freedom of expression is a natural one

16. The editor of Jyllands Posten is said to have deliberately chosen to publish the offending cartoons because he believed that the Danish media already practised self-censorship in relation to the country’s Muslim community.
Subsequently the response to Muslim protest has included strong claims that a climate of self-censorship was the likely result.
Nevertheless it is clear that, outside the most extreme libertarian circles, the right to freedom of expression is always seen as subject to certain limits and conditions.

17. LIMITATIONS TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Limitations on freedom of expression are made comparatively explicit in the formal agreements on human rights drawn up by governments.
The European Convention on Human Rights (1950), Article 10,
United Nation Declaration on Human Rights, Article 29, 30

18. European Convention on Human Rights, Article 10
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.
2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

19. Article 10 is a qualified right and as such the right to freedom of expression may be limited. 
Article 10 provides that the exercise of this freedom
“since it carries with it duties and responsibilities”
Limitations
is prescribed by law;
is necessary and proportionate; and
pursues a legitimate aim, namely:
the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety;
the prevention of disorder or crime;
the protection of health or morals;
the protection of the reputation or rights of others;
preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence; or
maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

20. These limitations threatens the whole structure
Yet it is a fundamental principle expressed in Article 29 of the Universal Declaration that such limitations do exist.
They are expressed in terms of ‘duties to the community’
Their scope is constrained in general terms by considerations that include respect for the rights of others.

21. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the freedom and full development of his own personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare of a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

22. If this is in danger of being seen as insufficiently strong on the circumstances in which human rights can be limited,
In the 30th and final Article of the Universal Declaration, the point is made even more directly.
“Nothing in this declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein”

23. The second clause of Article 29 calls for the law to be used as the test of what might be invoked as a limitation to the exercise of the rights (including the right of free expression), and Article 30 sets what looks like an absolute limit to the ‘destruction’ of rights and freedoms

24. The assessment of whether or not an action by authority imposes greater restrictions than those necessary to achieve its proper purposes?
Doctrine of ‘proportionality’ possesses the answer
The problem is that whilst anyone can form a personal view of where the proportionality lies in a given clash of laws or rights?
It is the courts of law that are likely to be the forum in which a decision is made.
Article 29 places the responsibility in the hands of the legislators and the use of the principle of proportionality relies on the judiciary.

25. Where can ordinary citizens, or indeed ordinary information professionals, who need to work out their own response turn for more specific guidance?
John S, Mill 1859 “Harm Principle”
He suggested that the use of freedom of expression could reasonably be limited if it caused harm to others.
Example
The attraction of the use of harm as a guiding principle is that harm can quite often be measured:
It might involve financial loss or personal injury.
In this context it is generally taken to mean harm to the rights of others and as such it requires more or less the kind of calculation of proportionality suggested in previous slide.

26. Recent incidents tells that offence has entered in the list of harm
There has been an increase of cases in which people, usually members of religious groups, protest vehemently that they have suffered offence and that they should be protected from this.
Blasphemous cartoons, Jerry’s Springer, The Opera, Behzti
Joel Finberg 1988 “ Offence Principle”
“The principle suggests that assessment of offence should take into account issues such as the motives of the speaker, the number of people offended, community interests, and the extent to which the material could be avoided”

27. IRAN
Source: accessed on 20th November 2014

28. TUNISIA
Three newsmen from Tunisian printed newspaper Attounisia were arrested for publishing a controversial picture of Tunisian and Real Madrid soccer player Sami Kedira and model Lena Gercke's naked photograph.
Source:
Accessed on 20th November, 2014

29. PAKISTAN
In November, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) instructed telecommunications operatorsin the country to filter SMS messages that included words that it considered objectionable. A PTA spokesman defended the move at the time, claiming PTA is protecting moral values, and is doing this under an existing law that prohibits the transmission of information that is false, obscene, fabricated, or indecent.
But after an outcry from civil rights and other groups, the government has delayed the implementation of the SMS filters, Ahmad said. "However Internet filtering is continuing rampantly," he added. Source:
Source: and

30. INDIA
Source: accessed on 19th November 2014

31. CONCLUSION